BENGALURU: The pandemic has driven home an important realisation: Looking after one’s wellness is key in these times. The Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI)’s launch of the Karnataka Wellness and Wellbeing Council couldn’t have come at a better time. The council, which is being launched on Oct. 5, is an interactive hub between the government and women entrepreneurs in the wellness and wellbeing sectors of Karnataka.
“The pandemic has challenged businesses and communities with dire threat of lives and livelihoods. The government and private sector must actively support each other in these challenging times,” says the council’s president Dr Suchitra Kaul Misra, while also expressing her gratitude towards the founder of WICCI, Dr Harbeen Arora.
The public-private partnership initiative aims to provide equal opportunity for women in the wellness industry and empower them with policy making through representation of WICCI. As many as 22 women council members will be partnering initiatives with the Ministry of Ayush, BBMP, Bangalore Society of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Nimhans and Jeevanansarthakathe.
“Our council members, which is a team of 22 ladies includes experienced psychologists, doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, mentors and holistic healers. These are all compassionate women in wellness who want to make a difference to the lives of children, teenagers, young women and senior women in the community as well as women owned wellness businesses,” says Misra.
The launch event, which coincidentally falls on World Sisterhood Day, will also celebrate ‘Shakti Bandhan’. As part of this, the ladies will honour each other with a sacred thread, to denote the shakti flowing from one to another. Professor Veena Tirlapur, who is a member of the council and the HOD of Home Science at KLES Arts and Commerce College, Gadag, says, “We are not celebrating Shakti Bandhan as only a festival or an event, but also raising up our voice together on behalf of all women entrepreneurs who are lacking behind.
Together we are converting our voice as ‘Unity of Shakti’.” A musical antakshari will also be conducted on the theme of positive emotions. That’s not all. To mark the occasion of the WICCI launch, all council members are also undertaking a pledge for organ donation. WICCI is also supported by ALL Ladies League (ALL) and Women Economic Forum (WEF).
The launch will take place on October 5, 4.30pm. Zoom Meeting ID:2255895930; password: interact. You can also check the live event on facebook.com/WICCIWELLNESS/live/